Spruce Grove home explodes

Photos; Spruce Grove home explosion

Fire investigators work at the scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

Fire investigators work at the scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

Fire investigators work at the scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

Fire investigators work at the scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

The scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

The scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

Fire investigators work at the scene of a house explosion on Greenbury Cresent in Spruce Grove, Alta. on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. The home was under construction at the time of the Feb. 23, 2013 explosion. David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

David Bloom/Edmonton Sun/ QMI Ag

A duplex under construction exploded Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013 around 9 p.m. on Greenbury Crescent in Spruce Grove, Alta. RCMP do not believe the cause of the explosion is suspicious. Twitter photo supplied by Caroline Peddy

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Two construction workers emerged unscathed after the house they were working on exploded in Spruce Grove Saturday night.

Spruce Grove RCMP say the contractors were tiling a kitchen when the blast rocked the Greenbury Crescent neighbourhood.

“We had two workers inside at the time who were just leaving to go home. They were in the building all afternoon working, and they said that the building exploded,” said deputy fire chief John Hynes.

Hynes says fire crews received a call around 9 p.m. Saturday reporting smoke and flames coming from the under-construction duplex, which was already “90% completed.” Spruce Grove and Stony Plain firefighters arrived to find the house engulfed in flames.

Neighbour Danielle Carver was home alone with her dog when the explosion rattled her house.

“I was just watching TV and all of a sudden there was a really big boom and the house shook. I actually thought someone had driven into my house, that’s how violent it was,” she said.

“It was very frightening.”

Police arrived moments later and evacuated the area within a one-block radius for fear of a potential gas leak.

The blast comes days after a basement explosion at a Fort Saskatchewan home that was under construction killed one worker and sent two more to hospital. The timing of the two events has Carver concerned.

“It’s a bit unnerving that this is happening in these construction sites. So I’m a little bit scared that this can happen again,” she said.

A fire line surrounded the property Sunday afternoon while debris lay scattered around the home’s burned-out remains. Fire investigators remained on scene while people continued to work on neighbouring homes.

Hynes says the workers who were in the building when the blast occurred reported that it came from the basement. He said the workers reported smelling something in the house “pretty much the whole day,” but that they couldn’t describe the smell.

Spruce Grove home explodes

An under-construction home is seen engulfed in flames Saturday night in the Spruce Grove neighbourhood of Greenbury. Witnesses claimed the house exploded. Officials evacuated the area but there was no word on injuries.

The explosion comes days after an under-construction home exploded in Fort Saskatchewan, killing one worker and leaving two others in hospital.